On Tuesday, February 20, the Center for Reconciliation of the Warring Parties in Syria, located in Damascus, came under fire, the Defense Ministry said. The shelling, as noted in the Ministry’s report, was “massive,” and resulted in the death of several civilians. No Russian military personnel were killed.

“Today, residential areas, hotels in Damascus, and the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of Warring Parties came under massive shelling by illegal armed formations from Eastern Ghouta. There is significant destruction and casualties among civilians. There were no casualties among Russian servicemen,” TASS reported, quoting the Ministry’s report. The report did not specify which group opened fire.

Earlier, Kommersant, referring to a source in the Defense Ministry, reported that 14 mortar rounds had been fired into the central districts of Damascus. It also specified that the shelling was carried out by the rebels of the Al-Nusra Front. “There are no casualties among Russian servicemen, and infrastructure damage is minimal,” specified the newspaper’s source. Mortar rounds also landed in a residential area, injured nine civilians, the source added.

The last time militants fired on Damascus was February 10. Terrorists fired several mortar shells from Eastern Ghouta into the center of the Syrian capital, in the area of the Dama Rose Hotel near Umayyad Square. As a result of the shelling, 11 people were injured, and one of the mortar rounds hit a transformer station, causing a fire. In response, the Syrian military struck targets in Eastern Ghouta.

Militants also shelled Damascus on February 6, during which one of the rounds hit the building of the Russian trade mission. No Russian diplomats were injured in the attack, but the building suffered “substantial material damage,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.